The invention relates to a supporting device for supporting a vertically adjustable lifting platform in a container for the transportation, temporary storage and display and presentation of products such as packed foods, the lifting platform being adapted for carrying the products, said supporting device at least comprising a lifting device for the vertical displacement of the lifting platform.
Such a device is known from, for example European patent specification No. 63,121. This European patent specification discloses a particular embodiment of a pallet container (also called a display container or promotion container), which consists of a prismatic casing with vertical ribs which is open at the top or can be opened, and is provided on the inside with a lifting platform fitting inside the casing for the purpose of carrying the products. The lifting device is here placed outside the actual container, in order to ensure that the capacity of the container, can be used as much as possible for the storage of the products. The lifting device essentially comprises a vertical threaded rod, fitted with a nut which is provided with a transversely projecting lip which projects through the wall of the container and supports the lifting platform. The lifting platform is held in the horizontal position by means of two inextensible belts which are both passed underneath the lifting platform, and one end of which is fastened at the bottom of the container, while the other end is fastened at the top of the container. The casing can be made of cardboard plywood, plastic, chipboard or even wood.
The use of such a container with lifting device results in a considerable saving as regards labor and packing material. For the container can be loaded entirely or virtually entirely automatically in the factory, and the products are then offered to the public in the shop or supermarket without further handling. Both the repacking of the products which normally takes place in distribution centers and the placing of the products on the shelves of the shop become completely unnecessary. However, users of this type of container with lifting device find that a large amount of space is taken up for returning the container to the factory, which constitutes an inefficient link in the container cycle. This is partly due to the fact that the device for supporting the vertically adjustable lifting platform and the container are integral. It would be possible in principle to dismantle the device for supporting the lifting platform and the container and return the loose parts to the factory. This is not, however, a practical solution, since dismantling and reassembling in the factory take a long time. Besides, parts can be lost.